Reflecting device for signs and the like



REFLECTING DEVICE FOR SIGNS AND THE LIKE Filed Jun-e 10, 1943 4 INVENTOR. k FRANK ,4. 5551' 5' BY 4% M ATTHRNE Y5.

' Patented Sept. 11,1945

BEFLEO'I'ING DEVICE FOR SIGNS AND THE. LIKE Frank A. Best, Windsor, Ontario, Canada Application June 10, 1943, Serial No. 490,241 3 Claims. ('CI. 88-82) This invention relates to display signs, such as the directional, caution or warning signs which are displayed along public highways, and in which the letters or characters of the signs are 3 ton, and means for attaching said button to an apertured sign panel. I

The primary object of the present invention is th provision of a reflecting device in which the reflector button, and the means for attaching it to a sign panel, are of simple and inexpensive form, and thus capable of being made and sold at low cost. and in which the button is of such character that it may be readily inserted in the aperture of a sign panel, from the front thereof, and

the button attaching means readily and quickly applied to the button shank for effecting the flrm and secure attachment of the button.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a reflecting device in which the button attaching means is in the form of a single helical spring member which positively grips the button shank without scufilng or otherwise defacing it, and which requires no apertures, receases, shoulders or the like in the button shank.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a reflecting device in which the shank of the button thereof is of tapered form, and in which th button attaching helical-spring member has its shank gripp g surfaces inclined to the helix axis at an angle corresponding to the complementary angularity of the tapered button shank.

Other objects of the present invention, and many of its practical advantages, will be referred to in or will be evident from the following description of one embodiment thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. l is a side elevation partly in section of one form of reflecting button adapted for use according to my invention:

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the reflecting button:

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the improved helical attaching means for a button such as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the section being taken through the axis of the helix:

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional .view of two adjacent turns of the attaching means, to show the angular disposition of the internal faces thereof with respect to the helix axis: and

Fig. 5 is a view, taken longitudinally of the axis of the button, and showing partly in side elevation and partly in section the button and attaching means in position in a display assembly housing.

Before the present invention is described in detail, it is to be understood that such invention is not limited to the details of construction or the specific arrangement of parts herein illustrated or described, as the invention obviously maytake other forms. It also is to beunderstood that the phraseology or terminology herein employed is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. I

In the embodiment of the invention selected for purposes of illustration in the drawing, there is shown a reflector button of inexpensive type,

so usually formed from glass or a transparent shatter-proof material, such as one of the acrylic or methacrylic plastics. vButtons of this nature are contoured or coated in such manner that they have one or more reflecting surfaces which re- 5 flect incident light therefrom so" as to appear luminous when struck, for example, by the beam from an automobile headlight.

Large numbers of such buttons are often'assembled on asingle sign or the like. It is therefore desirable that means be provided for readily and rapidly mounting a button in position and for retaining it in its original and proper alignment, since any substantial variation from such alignment produces the effect of unevenness in the illumination of the sign. It is also desirable that the buttons be readily removable since it sometimes becomes necessary to repair or replace them, or to vary their position so as to change the symbol or other matter on the sign.

Since the frontal portion of the button must necessarily be unobstructed, to preventcutting oil any of the light rays, it has heretofore been customary to perforate, shoulder or otherwise deface the rear or shank portion of the button to provide means by which the button may be gripped or retained in place. As the button has reflecting surfaces on its shank portion, it is obviously undesirable to have recesses, shoulders or the like thereon, which not only interfere with such reflecting surfaces but which materially add to the cost of the button.

Referring now to the drawing, there is" shown one such reflector button I i having a mushroomed or domed head portion II, a receding neck ii, a slightly tapered shank It, and a convex rear end ii. In the embodiment shown, the shank I l and rear endli are provided with a reflecting coating 20 which preferably is a metallic film, for example, a vaporized and condensed deposit of metallic aluminum or the like applied in a vacuum in a manner known to the art. It will be understood that while for purposes of illustration the fragmentary sectional showing of Fig. 1 indicates this film as being of appreciable thickness, such showing is exaggerated as the film thickness may be microscopic, or even sub-microscopic.

To protect the reflecting portions of each button from weathering, or from damage crunwarranted removal by irresponsible individuals, the portion of the button-receiving display sign ordinarily viewed by the onlooker is the front or panel portion of a hOllSiIlg which in the present instance consists of a box-shaped body 22 (Fig. and a face plate, panel or cover member 23 which, as here shown, are secured by screws 24, but which may be locked together or otherwise fastened in any desired way. The neck l3 of the reflecting button closely fits, or is sealed in, a suitably tapered aperture l9 in the plate or panel 23 (thus preventing dirt or moisture from penetrating the plate or panel and affecting the efficiency etc. of the reflecting coatingon the button), and the button shank I4 extends into the housing and is retained therein by means now to be described.

As already mentioned hereinabove, the button shank M has a slight taper, which is in the neighborhood of three degrees, more or less, in the present embodiment. The button securing means is a spring 25 of helical character and of novel sectional contour, which spring (-as best shown in Fig. 5) grips the shank and has a portion at the leading end thereof which abuts at 26 the front plate or panel 23 so as to thereby yieldingly retain the button in proper position and alignment and maintain the seal at surfaces i3, 19.

The inside diameter of the spring is preferably slightly smaller than the small end of the tapered shank. The wire or the like of which the spring is made is not round in cross section but is somewhat flattened or of oval section, so that the inner, shank-contacting surface 21 of the spring is extended and of substantial area. This surface is originally formed at an angle to the helix axis, which angle is preferably equivalent and complementary to that of the angular taper of the button shank. This construction is best shown in Fig. 3 and in the enlarged fragmentary view of Fig. 4, where the arrows A, A indicate an angle of approximately three degrees between the line F (coincident with the flattened face 21 of the helix) and the line X which is parallel with the helix axis. As a result of the combination of these several factors, including the extended shank-engaging surface of the spring member, and the complementary tapers on spring and shank, the frictional grip of the spring member is distributed over an area greatly increased beyond that of the ordinary round wire coil spring, the grip of which is applied along a line contact. As the result, the complementary planar contact of spring and shank in the present invention prevents or minimizes scufling, indentation, or other similar damage to the reflecting coating 20 by the distribution of the gripping force over a greater area ofthe reflecting surface.

In assembling the display sign, the housing is opened and the shank of the button is inserted from the front of plate or panel 23 until the button neck I3 is seated in the aperture ll of the panel or plate. The spring 25 is then applied to the button shank. This may be done in various ways. .One such way consists of applying the spring by exerting a rotary advancing force to the rearward portion of the spring, similar to that required to place a nut on a bolt, except that when such motion and force are applied to the trailing end of a resilient helix, they tend to diametrically expand or open up the coils of the helix and facilitate its advance along the shank. Also, the spring as a whole, before application to the shank, may .be cylindrical, as shown in Fig. 3, rather than conical and when it reaches its final position, the leading turns have been opened up more than the trailing turns and therefore have augmented gripping effect.

Another method of application. consists in slightly expanding the helix in a suitable tool or jig, advancing the expanded helix along the button shank until its leading end abuts the panel or plate 23, and then manipulating the tool or jig to release the helix, so as to permit it to contract and grip the button shank,

In attaching the spring to the shank, the spring is advanced along the shank until its leading end portion abuts at 26 the inner surface of the plate or panel 23, and beyond that the trailing. edge of the spring may be pushed forward a little further, so as to place the coils under additional compression lengthwise of the helix. Thus the button and panel are held together tightly by resilient pressure applied at the seating surfaces I3, l9, sealing the opening against leakage and preventing escape of the button by the effect of chatter or vibration.

When it becomes desirable to remove a button, the spring is rotated by torque applied in reverse direction to that before described or is otherwise removed by some suitable tool.

From the above description, it is apparent that the button may be attached without the necessity of drilling, slotting, cutting or otherwise defacing its reflecting surface. In the particular embodiment illustrated, although the housing remains closed, the periphery of the domed head of the button affords no satisfactory grip whereby casual trespassers could manually extricate the button from its seat.

Although in the embodiment shown, the complementary angularity of the shank taper and the helical contacting face has been shown and described as approximating three degrees, it is obvious on a consideration of the present disclosure that this angularity can be somewhat increased or diminished while still substantially achieving the advantages herein discussed. It is further apparent that the inherent resiliency of the spring permits a workable tolerance in the said complementary angularities of spring and shank, so as to render extreme accuracy unnecessary in the manufacture of either the spring or the shank.

To those skilled in the art to which the present invention relates, further features and advantages of devices embodying the present invention will be evident from the foregoing description of one such embodiment.

What I claim is:

1. A reflecting device for an apertured panel, comprising a reflecting button having a head exposed on one side of the panel and a tapered shank extending through the panel aperture, and means for securing the button to the panel, comprising axis, prior to the application of the spring to the an expanded helical spring surrounding and ripping the button shank, said spring being formed of flattened wire to present to the button shank a planar surface of each turn and thereby distribute the gripping force, the aforesaid planar surfaces of said spring being inclined to the helix axis, prior to the application of the spring to the button shank, at an angle complementary to the singularity of the taper of the button shank.

2. A reflecting device for an apertured panel,

comprising a reflecting button, having a head exposed on one side of the panel and a tapered shank extending through the panel aperture, and means for securing the button to the panel, comprising an expanded helical spring surrounding and gripping the button shank, said spring being formed of flattened wire to present to the button shank a planar surface of each turn and thereby distribute the gripping force, the aforesaid planar surfaces of said spring being inclined to the helix button shank, at an angle complementary to the angularity of the taper of the button shank, thecomplementary inclinations of both the taper of the button shank and the planar surfaces of the spring being at an angle of approximately three degrees to the longitudinal axis of the button.

3. A reflecting device for an apertured panel, comprising a reflecting button having a head ex- P sed on one side of the panel and a shank extending through the panel aperture, said shank being provided on its external surface with a reflecting coating, and means for securing the button to the panel, comprising an expanded coil spring surrounding and gripping the button shank, said spring being formed of flattened wire to present to the coated shank an extended surface of each turn, and thereby distribute the gripping force so as to minimize the possibility of damage to thesaid reflecting coating.

FRANK A. BEST. 

